This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, click the "Reprints" link at the bottom of any article.

May 16, 2012

Morgan Stanley Grabs Merrill, UBS Reps; Raymond James Snags MSSB Team

The aggressive recruiting push on behalf of the wirehouses and other national firms is continuing in mid-May, as restrictions tied to retention packages wind down and advisors become more comfortable about switching firms, experts say.

Morgan Stanley (MS) said Monday that it recruited one UBS (UBS) team and two Merrill Lynch (BAC) teams with combined assets of about $1.2 billion and yearly production of more than $8.2 million. Also on Monday, Wells Fargo (WFC) announced six new hires from Merrill and Edward Jones with about $1.1 billion in potential assets under management and $3.7-plus million in yearly fees and commissions.

On Tuesday, Raymond James (RJF) said it had recruited a four-member Morgan Stanley team with some $220 million in assets and $1.7 million in trailing-12-month production. Barclays shared early Tuesday that it had hired three advisors from Deutsche Bank and one from Morgan Stanley with combined assets of $1.7 billion and total fees and commissions of $8 million.

The advisors will be based in MSSB's office in Florham Park, N.J., and report to Rich Less, the complex manager. Their combined production is nearly $6.7 million, and their prior assets are $660 million.

Phil Huffman and Craig Cox joined MSSB's Pasadena, Calif., office from Merrill Lynch and now report to branch manager Al Faber. The two have combined production of more than $1.5 million and prior assets of roughly $300 million.

The other Merrill team coming on board MSSB includes a group of three female advisors in Durham, N.C.: Susan Rosenthal, Sandra Puff and Monica Tew. They now report to branch manager Robin S. Hogan and have combined assets of $250 million.

One is Andrew Arkfield of Arkfield Wealth Strategies in Omaha. He joins from Edward Jones with a trailing-12-month fees and commissions of about $1 million and assets of $108 million.

Thomas McDonald of Sarasota, Fla., is joining the FiNet practice of Capstan Financial Consulting Group. He was previously with Fifth Third Securities and has assets of roughly $99 million.

Joining the wealth-brokerage-services arm of Wells Fargo Advisors in several of its bank branches are:

Victor Rodriguez in Beverly Hills, Calif., who moved over from City National Securities with yearly production of about $916,000 and assets of $350 million; he reports to regional brokerage manager David Zimmerman.

The team of Richard Edwards and Scott Bell in Fresno, Calif., who join from Merrill Lynch with combined production of $1.8 million and total AUM of $400 million; they report to regional brokerage manager Mark Webster; and

Bryce Bordwell in Newport Beach, Calif., formerly of Citigroup; the advisor has some $100 million in assets and reports to regional brokerage manager Michael Villanueva.

Barclays Recruits

Barclays said Tuesday that it hired four investment representatives with a total of $8 million in yearly fees and commissions and about $1.7 billion in assets under management. They will be based in New York at it wealth and investment management division, where they will report to Mark Stevenson, managing director and regional manager for New York.

The three advisors joining Barclays from Deutsche Bank are Mark Leyton, Zach Shillingford and Gannon McCaffery. Also coming on board Barclays in New York is Darin Laub, who joins after 13 years at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

“We are confident that these first-class investment representatives will deliver Barclays capabilities, in a customized way, to our ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families,” said Mitch Cox, managing director and head of Wealth Management Americas for Barclays, in a press release.

“The addition of these experienced Investment Representatives further underscores our ability to continue to attract top performing advisors to Barclays world-class platform,” added Steve Houston, managing director and head of Sales Management Americas, in a statement.

Raymond James Recruits

On Tuesday, Raymond James said that advisorsJohn Nice, Brian Trujillo, Steven Ringquist and Bradley Trujillorecently formed the Denver-based Nice Group of Raymond James & Associates, the firm’s employee-advisor division.

“We are thrilled to welcome such an accomplished team to Raymond James,” said Pat Allison, Southwestern division director of Raymond James & Associates, in a press release. “They all are extremely talented, with a proven track record and bring extensive experience to our firm.”

Nice, Ringquist and the Trujillo brothers came to Raymond James from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where they managed more than $220 million in assets and had annual fees and commissions of $1.7 million.

“We put a great deal of time and effort into researching firms to find the best possible partner,” said Brian Trujillo in a statement. “As we conducted our due diligence, one name kept rising to the top: Raymond James. The firm was founded on the principle that the client must always come first, a principle to which The Nice Group adheres completely.

“Most of our team has spent our entire career at one firm, so this is not a move that we made without extensive research and deliberation,” Trujillo concluded.